[sharik]

my fridge has had an awful smell and we've been putting bleach in the tray to kill it. tonight we started hearing a hissing noise and know we have a leak. should we unplug it and call a repairman and is the leak hazardous?

[denman]

It is not dangerous unless you stick your head in the freezer.

Yes, unplug the unit.
If you are sure that you have a freon leak then you will need a pro.
It will be a fairly expensive repair so get a quote from a reputable company.
The leak has to be found and sealed and then the unit refilled with freon.

It may make more sense to put the dollars towards a new unit.

[sharik]

It isn't the freezer but a stand -alone refrigerator. We've had this smell for a week now and put bleach in the pan underneath to try and kill it. the inside of the refrigerator doesn't smell but we think it's the green goop in the pan that is causing it. With this model you can't pull the pan out to clean it and there is a copper coil going down into it. When my husband was working on getting more bleach into it last night we started hearing the hissing noise. We unplugged it - afraid the compressor might burn up - and I have a repairman coming this afternoon. Maybe it's a fitting? He wasn't using anything that could have pierced that tubing.

Originally Posted by denman

It is not dangerous unless you stick your head in the freezer.

Yes, unplug the unit.
If you are sure that you have a freon leak then you will need a pro.
It will be a fairly expensive repair so get a quote from a reputable company.
The leak has to be found and sealed and then the unit refilled with freon.

It may make more sense to put the dollars towards a new unit.